Process for the reproduction of oil-paintings



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY I. G. STEEDKAN, 01 LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO VERPLEX ART COH- PANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF OIL-PAINTINGS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, I-Immr Pnnor' Gon- MANSTON STEEDMAN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at London, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for the Reproduction of Oil- Paintings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such he will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, and articularly pointed out in the claims, ant. is on improvemcnt upon the process disclosed in my former Letters Patent of Great Britain #15405 of 1911.

In the preparation of reproductions of oil paintings by the process disclosed in my former patent as ordinarily practised, a colored lithograph or other colored print on paper, of the painting to be reproduced, 15 applied to a. piece of coarse canvas and the face of the print is painted over by hand, with a. plastic material, which will readily harden, to produce raised portions following and corresponding with the brush marks and varying levels of the pointed surface in the original painting. An embossing die is then formed from this prepared print usually by npplying the prepared print under a great pressure to the surfuce of a plate of ebonlte or other suitable substance capable of being rendered lastic by heat to receive the im' pressions oth of the raised portions of the a plied material on the face of the print and a so of the grain of the canvas, the pressure applied being sufiiciently great to impart both these variations of surface to the die. When the die has become hard it is used as an embossing die for the purpose of embossing other similar colored prints of the painting, whereby the irregularities are imported to each rint from the die and these colored embosse prints when varnished, present a remarkably accurate reproduction of an oil painting, and have the exact appearance, especiall when varnished, of having been painted irectly upon the canvas. 0

In carrying out this process the simulation of the brush markings upon the pr1nt from which the die is l'gtirepcired requires a. considerable degree of 3 ill of an artist. and this very much increases the cost of such Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

reproductions. One of the objects of m invention is to dispense with this hand wor c in the preparation of the die, and to reproduce the irregularities of surface from an oil painting photogrnphically and import the same to the surface of the embossing die. Moreover the use of ebonite is attended with considerable disadvantages as it becomes extremely brittle, es ecially after repeated use, and is very likely to crack during use. Another object of my present invention is to form the embossin die of a. plastic mess of treated casein which is more readil made to receive the impressions corresponc ing with the canvas, brush markings, etc, from the ahotogruphically prepared surface or plate efore referred to than ebonite, and is free from the objections to ebonite, and at the some time is not inflammable, as are the compositions containing celluloid.

In carrying out my improved process, I first reparc photographicnlly e surface prcvi ed with variations corresponding with the grain of the canvas and the various brush markings and variations in surface level of the painted )ortions. To this end I prefer to photogra ih the painting to be reproduced which may be an original painting, or a painted copy thereof, and the negative (or the positive therefrom) is placed upon it sheet of gelatin or other suitable material having incorporated with it sodium chlorid and u mucilege prepared from linseed oil, to which has been added a quantity of chrome alum suflicient to harden it, and suitable sensitizing material such as bichromnte of otesh and ammonia. The sensitized, gcletmized, sheet after exposure to the light. is developed by washing with water so as to remove those portions of the geletinized sheet not affected by the action of light, and the gelatiuized sheet is well washed, dried, and hardened, in any convenient manner, for example, by the application thereto of formaldehyde. I do not, however, limit myself to this particular photographic method, as any other photographic method which will produce a surface having the irregularities corresponding with the canvas grain and inequalities of the painted surface therein, may be employed.

he sheet so formed, which for convenience of reference I term the matrix for the die, is used for-the preparation of the embossin (lie, which may be formed of any desired too mu g m known In mark- 20 .flmmhy obtmming a man laminar.

and accurate Wyn duetim of the 'n than can Ea 01 mm when the 'b-rus '1 mming: an: agghed by IMAM thumb :Ha.

n; my om: of flm mac expansive, rlgms m the aim! prodmhim of and; pwfium 311m qnbmalmg dies may be 90 p1: mad as to arms mam either fine time ufifin in! or buck the print, as mafia-mg, 1:: gr.- emrdmrlm with. film mum in whmh the "1:3 mph-l: mini! is ubtailmd, and. in $01M stances: I ma imfm Both a. mule our] iflpaflt: embnming fe hu'twaan whinh the pants can be m new. Wfl mm than was of Birch main and, fmualn than 15 aclmtagwm or u v I i Flpfilc win nimble for mat ha mnzntinn may be pmpumd. in vufima Wag-a fur emppla, mixed with lime or btirw nHm-ime r mtmiql is eonmrbud 'fnthem luriul mimminaqy ditiaaafthnpainmd d t I mmi nmutflmum nit-moulmlmlwthmbuw I 4 H1 and tin WHOM MIME!!! mm I homo- ,gmmnuamw M P at" 3632"? .0, $11M! O w into in 1km mditim in W11" it can racaiva film 1m reuiun mm film mama to mpmcmea the m ualltiaa of it; m that it may be used as an embossing WhatIdlnim 76 and duaim b0 mauve by Lub- L The dmuribed umgesa fmzmp rofilming nil aim? whim]; ccnaista 1n mpn'ring phcxugrap ugally {mm 1m pn ntma mg, a an in: 00mm arpegulu'mea ca responding onwbl to i canvas grain, mmnga I wi l: of pi tunginnl painting an (11:: u in m w mum 1mm a l ully from an pa fn t- Ena m mfm a mu m- 

